Time to remember

• The birth centenary of Ram Nath Goenka is an occasion to remember that he was a legendary figure in his o...

• The birth centenary of Ram Nath Goenka is an occasion to remember that he was a legendary figure in his own lifetime. He was not prepared to compromise on his relentless campaign against corruption in public life. In the process he suffered persecution; he was prepared to lose everything for the sake of upholding principles dear to him, if only the nation would stand benefitted. He was indeed much more than a mere newspaper entrepreneur. The centenary year should inspire the young in particular and others in general to work hard like he did for a progressive, corruption-free, vibrant and united India.

— R.N. Lakhotia New Delhi

By whose leave?

• This refers to the editorial ‘Judges on course’ and the ‘Freeze Frame’ on the 25 judges of the Punjab and Haryana high court going on mass leave to protest against disciplinary action taken against two of their colleagues by the chief justice (IE, April 21). It is unfortunate indeed that some members of the judiciary, the most important pillar of democracy, have behaved in such a fashion — that too to agitate against the action taken by their own chief justice against their colleagues.

— Vidya Sagar Delhi

Kalam’s move

• It is high time that some serious and credible action is taken to discipline errant judges (‘Anguished Kalam writes to CJI, he pulls up HC judges’, IE, April 26).

— Kirti On e-mail

Primary colours

• The present election commissioners are trying too hard to live up to their predecessors’ reputation (‘The EC riders’, April 24). In their bid to do so, they appear to be wavering from their primary duties. For instance, after asking candidates to declare their assets, has the Election Commission tried to verify their authenticity? Have sufficient steps being taken to prevent candidates with dubious antecedents from contesting?

— Hitendra On e-mail

Shared anguish

• Sucheta Dalal’s article highlights the need to regulate the regulators in India, in this case SEBI (‘Share allotment drama: Little to smile about’, IE, April 26). Most financial market regulators still have the mental make-up of government departments from which probably most of them come anyway. They are still not used to speedy responses of the market mechanism. The problem of bank IPOs clearly shows that market accountability is still a hazy area in India. What kind of signals are these regulators sending to the market with their delayed and confused responses? I am quite amazed at the way BOM, IOB and UCO banks dispatched physical shares.
It is obvious that investors will take more time to respond to market conditions with physical shares than with electronic shares. If the banks are not prepared to accept the market mechanisms and the listing requirements applicable to all listed companies, then why are they being allowed to issue shares or trade them?

— Shyam Bhati On e-mail